It's got a bigger screen and works with Apple Pay. It lacks a battery boost, but it's...

If you thought the last the cell phone I reviewed, the Samsung Array, was simple, then you obviously haven't met the Huawei Verge. Also known as the M570, it doesn't run Android or Windows Phone, it doesn't have a keyboard or a touch screen, and the camera is just a 1-megapixel job. Now I know that right now you're asking yourself, "Is this some ancient CNET review from 2003 that I'm seeing by mistake?" Good question, indeed, but you're seeing an honest review from 2012. As basic as it is, the Verge was born just in October, the same month as flagship smartphones like the iPhone 5 and the Nokia Lumia 920 went on sale. It wins points for being different, but the handset is just for making calls. And if that's all you want, MetroPCS has much better options like the Samsung Freeform III for just a few dollars more. The Verge is $49 with MetroPCs' no-contract service.

Design
With its exceedingly basic candy bar design, the Verge could be a phone you found buried in your junk drawer. Sure, such a handset served you well a decade ago, but you've long switched to a smartphone and now have no use for such a relic. All understandable, but there is something to be said for such simplicity. You could hand the Verge to anyone and they'd know how to use it immediately. The rectangular shape fits nicely in your hand and the dimensions (4.57 inches long by 2.1 inches wide by 0.49 inch deep) are comfortable. It wasn't so small that it got lost in a bag and I barely noticed it was in my pocket. The plastic shell gives it a flimsy feel, though. This is not a device you'd want to bang around.

The Verge's controls and keypad are comfortable and easy to use.
Josh Miller/CNET

The 2.4-inch QVGA TFT display has a 320x240-pixel resolution. Yes, that's almost nothing, but it's full-color and you can control the brightness and the backlighting duration. And just like the old days, you even can change the clock style and write a personalized banner. The icon- and list-based menus are familiar and easy to use and you can add weather and calendar widgets to the home screen. There's also a shortcut tray that you can fill with up to nine preselected MetroPCS apps. It's a nice touch on such a basic device even if it doesn't pull in features that I'm aching to use.

The navigation array is spacious and well designed. There's a square toggle with a central OK button, two soft keys, a speakerphone shortcut, a Back key, and the Talk and End/power buttons. All controls are raised so you can use them by feel. I also like the alphanumeric keyboard below. There are individual buttons, instead of one big block of keys, and there's enough space to text quickly. Of course, that's assuming you remember how to use T9 predictive typing.

The camera lens and speaker are on the Verge's rear side.
Josh Miller/CNET

Finishing up the Verge's exterior are the volume rocker and Micro-USB/charger port on the left spine. The rocker is large and easy to use without removing the phone from your ear. Around back you'll find the camera lens and a single speaker, and up top is a 3.5mm headset jack.

Features
As I mentioned, there's not much about the Verge's feature set that's interesting. The phone book holds 1,000 contacts with each entry having space for multiple phone numbers (and a fax number!), an e-mail address, and a URL. You can save contacts to groups and pair them with a ringtone and a photo. Interestingly, if you don't assign a photo, a stock avatar of a faceless guy in a blue suit will appear on your caller ID.

Other basic features include a stopwatch, a world clock, a calculator, a voice recorder, Bluetooth 2.1, a notepad, and the aforementioned weather and calendar apps. For written communication, the Verge has threaded text and multimedia messaging and e-mail through MetroPCS' portal.

There's a separate app that you'll have to install that gives access to Facebook and Facebook messaging, GTalk, and instant messaging through AOL, Windows Live, and Yahoo. I guess it's nice that the app is there, but I'd avoid using it at all costs. Not only will you have to suffer through a slow data connection to use the Web-based app (while paying any data fees), but also typing is maddening on the alphanumeric keypad.

Standard studio shot
Kent German/CNET

The camera maxes out at a 1-megapixel resolution. As you'd expect, features are pretty limited. There's a multishot mode, a self timer, four frames, three color effects, a night mode, and an adjustable white balance. That almost covers the basics except for a digital zoom and a brightness meter. The Verge does not shoot video and it lacks a flash.

About The Author

Senior Managing Editor Kent German leads the CNET Reviews editors in San Francisco. A veteran of CNET since 2003, he still writes about the wireless industry and occasionally his passion for commercial aviation.